Help with work top

[Toomuchdiy]

Could anyone help me please? I am fitting a hob into a wooden worktop. I have cut the hole with a jigsaw and it is not a perfect straight line but it fits fine. The problem is that the glass hob is flat edged and designed to be flush with work top. I therefore need to make a recess all around.

I started with hammer and chisel but am afraid to continue as I have already made some chips and a small crack in the worktop which will not be covered. I was thinking of hiring a router tomorrow but I do not think this will work because it would have to follow the cut out shape for hob which is not straight enough.

Thank you for reading and please any advice would be gratefully received!

 

[vv2806]

I was thinking of hiring a router tomorrow but I do not think this will work because it would have to follow the cut out shape for hob which is not straight enough.

Why would it have to follow the cut out shape? When I cut with a router it follows a guide I clamp to the workpiece, and it is away from the cutting line, the distance depends on the size of the router's base.

 

[Toomuchdiy]

[quote="

Why would it have to follow the cut out shape? When I cut with a router it follows a guide I clamp to the workpiece, and it is away from the cutting line, the distance depends on the size of the router's base.[/quote]

Thank you so much for your reply. I don't know anything about routers but when I looked on line I saw people using them along edges following the line of shelves or doors. I feel much more positive now that I've seen your reply. I will either buy or rent one today and have a go. I'm very worried about further damaging the work top. Will I need to buy clamps too? Or will clamps come with router? I am working with the work top in situ but its nit fixed.
Do I need to bring measurements to shop and buy specific router bits or is it an adjustable tool?

 

[Toomuchdiy]

Another question- would a block plane work for cutting into the wood to create the recess?

 

[vv2806]

I would imagine the cut have to be precise - exact depth and shape - which is not easy, if possible at all with block plane. I would imagine your best bet is to go to a tools hire shop and explain what you have to do. They should advise you which router bit to use and probably would have clamps.

Or you can find a pro to sort the cut out for you, which might be a good idea if the worktop is expensive and you need other cuts to be done.

 

[kjacko]

Could anyone help me please? I am fitting a hob into a wooden worktop. I have cut the hole with a jigsaw and it is not a perfect straight line but it fits fine. The problem is that the glass hob is flat edged and designed to be flush with work top. I therefore need to make a recess all around.

I started with hammer and chisel but am afraid to continue as I have already made some chips and a small crack in the worktop which will not be covered. I was thinking of hiring a router tomorrow but I do not think this will work because it would have to follow the cut out shape for hob which is not straight enough.

Thank you for reading and please any advice would be gratefully received!

We all start somewhere matey, however using a chisel on a worktop probably wasn't the best idea you'll ever have. I'm guessing its a laminated worktop as you said you've chipped and cracked it a little?

Another option could be to use a multi-tool like the Bosch PMF180. You'd still have to be careful to cut a straight line and a router is probably the best tool for the job, but as a first attempt with it, i'd suggest you practice quite a bit on some spare wood.

Good luck.

 

[Harbourwoodwork]

why doe's the hob need letting into the work top show us some pic's that sounds way beyond a lot of kitchen fitters capabilities and will cause a damp trap in the chipboard ,more info needed

 

[foxhole]

Could anyone help me please? I am fitting a hob into a wooden worktop. I have cut the hole with a jigsaw and it is not a perfect straight line but it fits fine. The problem is that the glass hob is flat edged and designed to be flush with work top. I therefore need to make a recess all around.

I started with hammer and chisel but am afraid to continue as I have already made some chips and a small crack in the worktop which will not be covered. I was thinking of hiring a router tomorrow but I do not think this will work because it would have to follow the cut out shape for hob which is not straight enough.

Thank you for reading and please any advice would be gratefully received!

Are you sure it's meant to be flush, pans could transfer heat direct to work top.

 

[kjacko]

I had a gas on glass hob that definitely sat on top so to speak.
As above i can't imagine a flush fit for the reasons stated above too.

 

[Toomuchdiy]

Thank you, it looks from the instruction manual that its supposed to be flush but I will call them tomorrow to check. I should have done this before.

 

[481]

The router is one of the best, most versatile tools ever invented, and there's all sorts of clever bits and jigs that you can use, not to mention home-made guides that cost virtually nothing. You'd be amazed at how often it's the only tool for the job - and it certainly sounds like it is in your case.

My advice would be to buy the best one you can get hold of - maybe second hand (eg on eBay). There are also some really good value starter kits, eg:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TREND-T4-...Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item564c77f933

Other Top Tips I can offer you: You can't normally go wrong with Trend routers. Steer clear of any brand that looks too cheap to be true. Invest a little bit more in tungsten carbide tipped bits (TCT), not the much softer steel ones(HSS), which can easily get damaged. Try to do your routing somewhere that it won't matter if you make a mess (bits of sawdust fly everywhere!). Always rout from left to right if you can. Don't try to take out too much wood in one go, and take off the absolute minimum you can on the final pass so as to leave the best possible finish (eg avoiding scorch marks). Oh - and there are a couple of standard shank sizes for router bits, so make sure you buy the right one.

Hope this helps, and that you too will soon become a router addict!

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Another question- would a block plane work for cutting into the wood to create the recess?

No. As you've already made the cut-out you'd need a rebate plane and that's going to be awkward to use because your jigsaw has not left you a straight edge to work to. It can be done, but I think it needs some experience of using a rebate plane to deal with this to a high standard in hardwood. You'll not like me saying this, but the ideal approach would have been to create the recess BEFORE making the cut-out - which would have been simpler. So, my suggestion would be to work to an MDF or plywood straight edge, say 6in wide x 18mm thick and clamped to the top, using a plunge router fitted with a top bearing template cutter, like one of these (look at the T8029B). This will still leave you with the corners to chisel out by hand (they will be radiused) but a plunge router will ensure a consistent depth of cut. Make your cuts in several passes taking only and extra 1 to 2mm per pass until you get to the required depth

I have to agree with outhers who question the need to recess the hob into the worktop. I've never done that on any worktop I've installed in many, many years.

 

[Harbourwoodwork]

Alternativley make a full template/router guide ,say 18mm mdf using the hob to get the shape,use a straight fluted cutter with top follow bearing,make template plenty big enough to clamp up and get them out of the way of the router and give router bed support back and front

 

[Toomuchdiy]

Thank you so much for your advice and replies. I only wish I'd asked on this forum before doing the work.

I ended up wasting two solid wood work tops. I hired a router and destroyed a jig. And have a hole in the floor. I had a kitchen fitter in to look at the second work top and he said that what I was attempting was beyond a fitters capabilities. That is would be cut in a factory using a computer. So I decided to cut my losses. Try to forget the 3 days wasted work and the hundreds of pounds and send back the hob and swap for one that sits on top of the surface and I've phonesda work top supplier and ordered one specially to fit and with the hob cut out for me.

Thank you again for taking the time to read my post and to give me the advice - you understood exactly what I was doing which was a help!

 

[Harbourwoodwork]

Thank you so much for your advice and replies. I only wish I'd asked on this forum before doing the work.

I ended up wasting two solid wood work tops. I hired a router and destroyed a jig. And have a hole in the floor. I had a kitchen fitter in to look at the second work top and he said that what I was attempting was beyond a fitters capabilities. That is would be cut in a factory using a computer. So I decided to cut my losses. Try to forget the 3 days wasted work and the hundreds of pounds and send back the hob and swap for one that sits on top of the surface and I've phonesda work top supplier and ordered one specially to fit and with the hob cut out for me.

Thank you again for taking the time to read my post and to give me the advice - you understood exactly what I was doing which was a help!

you should have asked a carpenter they have craft skills this is just bread and butter to one with an ounce of skill ,kitchen fitters do lego kits and a have great depth of product knowlege but don't have craft skills but sometimes delude themselves that they do and that's when the problem's start.